Dooley Noted: The Blogs

Dooley Noted: 4/15/2015 Yesterday, I had four patients tell me they feel the worst when they wake up.  I’m often asked for advice on sleep positions and improving sleep quality.  But here’s the truth: you can start in one position and end up in a pretzel.  Your movements are unconscious during sleep, after all.  So, people must make themselves resilient to the toss and turn and try to limit it by improving sleep quality.  Here … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/13/2015 I don’t drive much these days. But when I do, interesting observations occur.  Yesterday, I made a wrong turn in a Boston suburb.  As I was turning around, I saw a young boy selling lemonade outside his home.  I stopped the car in haste.  I had a flood of memories back to my own childhood, when I sold everything from lemonade to handmade crafts.  The entrepreneurial spirit can root deeply into you, … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/9/2015 This past weekend, my mom asked me the most touching and rewarding question I’ve been asked in my life:  “Jo, how do your dad and I donate ourselves to the Anatomical Gift Program?” I had to bite my cheek to not tear up.  The doctor I’ve become is largely because of this amazing program of donation.  In the past decade, I’ve helped to dissect over 900 donor cadavers to the institutions at … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/8/2015 Every single day of my four-year chiropractic rehabilitative practice has featured at least one patient who has received a cortisone injection. The results are always within the following three bullet points:  1. The patient’s pain is exacerbated by the injection.  2. The patient experiences no pain relief whatsoever.  3. The patient receives 24-48 hours of relief, followed by a swift return to their initial discomfort.  I’ll give it to the people injecting … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/7/2015 Last week, I had a patient tell me about the brow beatings she received from her trainer.  I’m the queen of being tough and tender, with more emphasis on the former.  But this example got me thinking: Is the patient being encouraged to succeed?  She noted that during a rolling pattern, her coach pointed out all of her mistakes.  He threw up his hands, telling her she just couldn’t do it correctly.  … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/6/2015 I used to be a brat.  I used to assume I knew what was best for other people.  Fresh out of school, I’d offer advice without them asking. Then, I was shocked when they had a negative response to my suggestions. I learned this lesson for the final and most significant time with my father.  I used to give him unsolicited advice, like a brat who thought she knew what was best. … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/5/2015 It’s only fitting on the day of resurrection that I return even more deeply to my beliefs.  I believe strength is missing when most people have tightness.  And I have some right hip tightness. It happened after pushing past my allowable stability while squatting at a certification.  For a month, I have experienced discomfort in squatting.  So, I did what most people do when something is tight.  I stretched it. That gave … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/3/15 Yesterday, I had a patient get stuck in her rolling pattern. As she struggled to roll herself over, she said the words that kept her stuck:  “I can’t do it.” Her motor control center believed this fallacy.  I have zero tolerance for the Down Talk, when one talks trash about oneself as self-sabotage ruins the potential of goal achievement.  I told her it was okay if she got stuck. She could simply … Read more

Dooley Noted: 4/1/2015 Since it’s the day of fools, I thought I’d share a way I got fooled about health.  In 2010, I had such intense knee pain that it would wake me up in the middle of the night. It felt as if someone was stabbing me in my knee. I would scream with pain as I pulled my knee into a more extended position. I wasn’t squatting. I wasn’t doing much of anything … Read more